Louise O'Reilly (Dublin Fingal, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

I share the concerns of Deputies Paul Murphy and Catherine Murphy. I also have a further concern. The mechanism for redress is through the Workplace Relations Commission, WRC, but that would not apply in the case of cash tips. I am sure we all do the same thing in restaurants. If we are tipping, we ask the people serving us if they get to keep the tip if it is in cash. They will say "Yes" or "No". In some instances, the server will say the tips go into a glass behind the counter and are distributed. The intention behind the Bill is to end tip theft, which is theft of money from workers who are on very low pay. Let us not forget why we are here. It is just as wrong for employers to skim money off credit cards and take it as it is for them to take it out of a jar intended for the workers individually.

I appreciate that there is provision for a review after 12 months. I am conscious that for workers on very low incomes, a year without protection in the context of those cash tips could be problematic. However, redress is not available even if that is happening. We are all deciding that is not a good thing and it should not be allowed for an employer to rob tips from workers. However, employers can do that if it is a cash tip and the WRC redress would not be open to the employees. It seems to me a bit of a loophole which would be open to exploitation. It is important to say that these complaints do not apply to every employer. We do not need to legislate for those employers who always do the right thing. We are here to legislate for the ones who do not. Cash tips should also be covered.

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